Poll: Swing State Voters Oppose More Gun Control

Most likely voters in the key swing states of Colorado, Wisconsin, and Virginia oppose more gun control laws, believing they wouldn’t prevent killing sprees, according to a new Quinnipiac University/CBS News/New York Times poll.

The survey was taken July 31-Aug. 6, with the Wisconsin portion taken before the murder of six Sikhs at their temple in that state Sunday.

In Colorado, 58 percent of voters want laws controlling the sale of guns kept the same or made less strict, while only 38 percent want them stricter. In Wisconsin, 54 percent of voters want the laws kept the same or made less strict, and 43 percent want them stricter. In Virginia, 53 percent want the laws kept the same or made less strict, and 44 percent want them stricter.

On the issue of whether more stringent laws controlling gun sales would prevent mass murders, like the Aurora, Colorado theater shooting last month, 66 percent of respondents in Colorado said no, while 30 percent said yes. In Virginia, 60 percent said no, and 37 percent said yes. In Wisconsin, 57 percent said no, and 40 percent said yes.

To be sure, when it comes to a nationwide ban on the sale of high-capacity magazines, 58 percent of voters in Colorado favor it, while 35 percent are opposed. In Virginia, 52 percent support a ban, and 42 percent oppose it. In Wisconsin, 57 percent back a ban, and 37 percent are against it.

As for how much time the presidential candidates should spend talking about gun control, 36 percent of voters in Colorado say they’re spending too little time, 30 percent say they’re spending the right amount of time, and 19 percent say they’re spending too much time. In Virginia, it’s 45 percent for too little time, 26 percent for the right amount, and 18 percent for too much. In Wisconsin, it’s 41 percent for too little, 29 percent for the right amount, and 19 percent for too much.